g-boaf wrote:Yesterday, a Bentley Continental turning out of a Stockland's carpark and roaring down the wrong side of the road to get around the traffic island installed to prevent people turning right out of the car-park exit. No, bad driving isn't just the sole expertise of utes and BMWs.

Almost home, crossing a T, woman in a Ford Falcon comes screaming up to the intersection and has to slam the brakes on because otherwise she is going to hit me. Unrestrained child standing in the back made it all the way to the dash. And another under-aged child in the front seat who didn't appear to be restrained either.

Sadly only moron of the week though - he will have to try much harder for the coveted moron of the year.

I would've thought so...And then, this...

twizzle wrote:Almost home, crossing a T, woman in a Ford Falcon comes screaming up to the intersection and has to slam the brakes on because otherwise she is going to hit me. Unrestrained child standing in the back made it all the way to the dash. And another under-aged child in the front seat who didn't appear to be restrained either.

There's never a police car around when you need one.

...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.London Boy 29/12/2011

Mate of mine's brother on the Gold Coast sent him this the other week, puts up an interesting suggestion:

"Another mate hit by a car last week. This time the 4x4 actually mounted the footpath to run him down deliberately. Driver only charged with dangerous driving. Cyclists should be entitled to carry a gun, yes it is getting that bad, when motorists deliberately swerve to run you down and use their car as a weapon you should be able to defend yourself. If I stood in the street shooting at innocent people am sure I would get something like attempted murder at least, yet if you use your car as a weapon its 'only an accident'. So to all those bikies out there shooting each other, you should just run each other down in a car, the authorities will understand it was accidental and you didn't really mean it."

schroeds wrote:Mate of mine's brother on the Gold Coast sent him this the other week, puts up an interesting suggestion:

"Another mate hit by a car last week. This time the 4x4 actually mounted the footpath to run him down deliberately. Driver only charged with dangerous driving. Cyclists should be entitled to carry a gun, yes it is getting that bad, when motorists deliberately swerve to run you down and use their car as a weapon you should be able to defend yourself. If I stood in the street shooting at innocent people am sure I would get something like attempted murder at least, yet if you use your car as a weapon its 'only an accident'. So to all those bikies out there shooting each other, you should just run each other down in a car, the authorities will understand it was accidental and you didn't really mean it."

Moron who came up behind my husband and I on Seven Mile Rd, Trafalgar this morning and couldn't wait just a couple of seconds to let the oncoming car through. Instead, he almost shaved us both, me more so than my husband. I'm wearing the camera.

I am sure some will say that we should have claimed the lane but this is a 100kmh rural road which we ride regularly and know how the traffic behaves.

TraceyG wrote:Moron who came up behind my husband and I on Seven Mile Rd, Trafalgar this morning and couldn't wait just a couple of seconds to let the oncoming car through. Instead, he almost shaved us both, me more so than my husband. I'm wearing the camera.

I am sure some will say that we should have claimed the lane but this is a 100kmh rural road which we ride regularly and know how the traffic behaves.

Personally I wouldn't say you should be claiming the lane there but I have no experience with that type of road. Its unfortunate there's no shoulder (or a wider lane). Legally you can't really "claim the lane" there as its a single lane each way.

jasonc wrote:+1 single lane 100km zone. don't know if claiming the lane is the right thing to do either

Often it is best. It is certainly what I normally do when riding a road with no room to pass. The alternative is often getting hit and killed.... But in general I don't make a habit of riding on such roads.

Often it is best. It is certainly what I normally do when riding a road with no room to pass. The alternative is often getting hit and killed.... But in general I don't make a habit of riding on such roads.[/quote]

Not much choice when you live in the country. The only roads with shoulders around here are freeways and they are even worse.

TraceyG wrote:Moron who came up behind my husband and I on Seven Mile Rd, Trafalgar this morning and couldn't wait just a couple of seconds to let the oncoming car through. Instead, he almost shaved us both, me more so than my husband. I'm wearing the camera.

I am sure some will say that we should have claimed the lane but this is a 100kmh rural road which we ride regularly and know how the traffic behaves.

That's scary Tracey. I'm starting to think its impossible to avoid natural born morons like that. I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

AKO wrote:I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

TraceyG wrote:Moron who came up behind my husband and I on Seven Mile Rd, Trafalgar this morning and couldn't wait just a couple of seconds to let the oncoming car through. Instead, he almost shaved us both, me more so than my husband. I'm wearing the camera.

I am sure some will say that we should have claimed the lane but this is a 100kmh rural road which we ride regularly and know how the traffic behaves.

AKO wrote:I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

Karma

Indeed. I'd love to be a fly on that wall...

...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.London Boy 29/12/2011

AKO wrote:I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

Karma

Indeed. I'd love to be a fly on that wall...

Maybe the interview can be recorded for "training" purposes then posted.

TraceyG wrote:Moron who came up behind my husband and I on Seven Mile Rd, Trafalgar this morning and couldn't wait just a couple of seconds to let the oncoming car through. Instead, he almost shaved us both, me more so than my husband. I'm wearing the camera.

I am sure some will say that we should have claimed the lane but this is a 100kmh rural road which we ride regularly and know how the traffic behaves.

Personally I wouldn't say you should be claiming the lane there but I have no experience with that type of road. Its unfortunate there's no shoulder (or a wider lane). Legally you can't really "claim the lane" there as its a single lane each way.

I ride such rural roads quite a lot on touring rides. Usually we try to pick the quieter runs, but inevitably have to ride some fast/busy roads.

I find that at times riding two-abreast on such roads is a good option - makes you more visible, wider in rear profile. Panniers are also good for this reason. Another strategy that works (used best together with a rear-view mirror) is to do the occasional wiggle, especially when cars/trucks are approaching 200m back, especially where there is any oncoming hazard (cars, blind corner, hill crest). By just veering your line sideways 20-30cms this creates an impression of unpredictability that gives most drivers the brown-pants feeling, enough for them to rethink their approach. If you get a horn blast, so what?

Down that way near Yarragon (Darnum-Alambee Rd) I was shaved in a similar manner by a horn-blasting moron, driving a 4WD ute. We had been riding two-abreast on this very quiet road, when a hoon-moron came over a crest behind us and started blasting the horn from 200-300m back. We moved into single-file but he kept up the horn blasting, then shaved me extremely close - my mate behind estimated it was less than 10cm - at full speed. We got his rego, had a witness, reported to police, and they allegedly followed through to the CPS stage, but then heard no more. I wonder if it's the same hoon.

This is NOT my video. This is from CycleGaz in London. I post it here because it fits under the category of this thread perfectly and also gives an appreciation of cycling in other cities.

Most of my commute is on bikepaths and backstreets. The forays I need to make on busy roads have bike lanes or decent shoulders. On the 1 exception to this, I ride the footpath for a few hundred meters.

Watch this (or any one of the similar London commuter video channels) and tell me how you'd feel getting squeezed into some very skinny shoulders / bike lanes with hard gutters.

Rhubarb wrote:This is NOT my video. This is from CycleGaz in London. I post it here because it fits under the category of this thread perfectly and also gives an appreciation of cycling in other cities.

Most of my commute is on bikepaths and backstreets. The forays I need to make on busy roads have bike lanes or decent shoulders. On the 1 exception to this, I ride the footpath for a few hundred meters.

Watch this (or any one of the similar London commuter video channels) and tell me how you'd feel getting squeezed into some very skinny shoulders / bike lanes with hard gutters.

I'm surprised at least half of those didn't come to blows. Watching that level of selfishness boils my blood. Just like the conversation I had with a woman territory driver the other day " love if your close enough for me to punch and dent your passenger side rear door, then you are too close". " Whos going to pay for the damage to my car"? "I'm not sure I know the answer to that sorry".

AKO wrote:I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

Indeed. I'd love to be a fly on that wall...

Maybe the interview can be recorded for "training" purposes then posted.

Mark

Please yes, or at least post a transcript thereof. So do we assume the moron didn't realise who the cyclist is? Gold!

AKO wrote:I got shaved yesterday approaching a round about, much slower than your encounter though. The upside for me is I just happen to be the morons supervisor. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to going to work .

Karma

Indeed. I'd love to be a fly on that wall...

I'm still not sure how to approach the situation. Do I chat him about his driving "I don't think he knows it was me, or that he's aware he did anything wrong" or do I just allocate him the Lions share of the cruddy jobs? The weather is warming up. Maybe a week of in pit dozer and digger services will do him good.

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